In a show of spirit and fight that had been lacking in recent games, Cal edged Colorado 66-65 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion to secure the prized No. 4 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament.

The top four teams earn byes into the quarterfinals in Las Vegas and do not have to play in the first round Wednesday. The Bears play at 2:36 p.m. Thursday at the MGM's Grand Garden Arena.

"We needed some positive vibes. We needed something good to happen," Cal head coach Mike Montgomery said. "They approached the game differently, collectively, across the board. ... They tried to share the ball, help inside on defense. That made all the difference in the world."

Although Cal missed its last 10 field-goal attempts of the game, including all seven in OT, it got the job done at the free-throw line with seven makes in the extra period. The winning points came on two foul shots by Justin Cobbs with 21 seconds remaining as Cal overcame a 65-64 deficit.

"It's a sigh of relief," said Cobbs, a senior who had 21 points in his last game at Haas. "We've been through so much, ups and downs, things not clicking. To go out with a win gives us momentum going into the Pac-12 tournament. We're excited."

The win wasn't secured until the buzzer sounded on the overtime period, after Tyrone Wallace missed the front end of a one-and-one at 0:04 and Colorado's Askia Booker misfired on a running three-point shot at 0:01.

The Bears finished the regular season 19-12 overall and 10-8 in the conference, in a five-way tie for third place with Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon and Stanford. The Sun Devils have the tie-breaker for third, and No. 4 goes to Cal by virtue of its 3-1 record vs. Colorado, Oregon and Stanford.

"It's about the team ... team, team, team," Cobbs said. "All individual things go out the window. ... I thought we did a good job of staying together, picking each other up. It was us having a reality check to see what we can do to be successful."

The players had that reality check after Wednesday's loss to Utah. On Thursday, players and coaches got away from basketball entirely and played laser tag in Walnut Creek.

"We've been doing the same things, going over the same things," Montgomery said. "I just think they were struggling. We needed a day away from basketball. ... I thought it was good."